AC/DC's Angus Young Was At Center Of Odd All-Star Jam

04-13-2017.

AC/DC's Angus Young is a legendary guitarist but during an impromptu all-star jam he decided that he wanted to play drums and that set the stage for a performance that the audience and rockers involved will never forget.

The unique jam session is just one of the memories that Chris Glen (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and The Michael Schenker Group) shares in his new book "Chris Glen: The Bass Business." Ahead of this Friday's release of the new book, Glen revealed an excerpt that recounts that memorable night when he hit the stage with legendary drummer Cozy Powell, Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander and Angus Young:

“MSG [which featured him and Powell at the time] had just finished a tour with Molly Hatchet, and we were about to do Canada with Cheap Trick. Seattle in America is a bit like Crewe in Britain – all trains seem to go through there, and all bands seem to go through there. So we were in this club in Seattle, and Cheap Trick were there, and AC/DC were there too – they had the same management as Michael. Angus Young is a tea drinker now, but I think back then he was still up for anything. So that’s what we were drinking … anything!

“We were all sat across six tables and there had been a band playing. The manager of the place said, ‘Come on, some of you guys play a song,’ and Cozy went, ‘Okay, who’s up for it?’ It was really a case of, ‘Who can still stand up?’

“So it was Cozy, me, Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander and Angus. We were just getting up and Angus decided he wanted to play drums, so Cozy said, ‘Right, let’s not play our real instruments!’ I’d already gone to pick up the bass, but Cozy said, ‘No, I’m playing the bass. You play the guitar.’ Rick and Robin were happy because there were keyboards and a microphone.

“We did ‘Highway to Hell,’ but the whole thing was a clusterf— ... Angus was trying to show me the chords while we did it. At one point he took my right arm and held it up the guitar neck to do the fingering!

“He could hold a beat and Rick was singing, and the bass is just bump-bump-bump, which was no problem for Cozy. But I was f—ing terrible. I remember at the end the crowd went wild – or maybe they were just angry. We said ‘Thank you!’ but we meant ‘Thank you for putting up with us.’

“Common sense prevailed and we didn’t do another song. But by that time, all the girls in the room had found out who we were, so that looked after itself. I just about remember thinking, ‘This is one for the book … ’ and here we are!”

The book's co-author, former Classic Rock news editor Martin Kielty is offering a signed limited-edition hardcover and a signed paperback via his website here.